Dmitry Miropolsky

The Secret of the Three Sovereigns

He had no desire to rummage

In chronological dust

History of the earth:

But jokes of days gone by

From Romulus to the present day

He kept it in his memory.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

I myself was a speck of dust in the composition of the huge instruments with which Providence acted.

Prince Nikolai Borisovich Golitsyn

The less true a story is, the more enjoyable it is.

Sir Francis Bacon

I have no interest in anything unless it has two murders per page.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

1. Dirty detective

On the day of the number pi Major Odintsov did not intend to kill anyone.

Strictly speaking, he had not been a major for a long time, he learned about the unusual date by accident and, moreover, did not have such a habit of taking people’s lives out of the blue. But here you go: in broad daylight, you killed two people at once right in the center of St. Petersburg, and what to do now is a big question...

On the chilly black morning of March fourteenth, Odintsov, as always, arrived at work around half past seven. He got out of the car and noted with disapproval the ice mounds peeking out here and there from under the snow, looking like blots of hardened office glue.

“Cleaning is a C grade,” Odintsov said out loud; out of an old bachelor habit, he sometimes talked to himself. - Cleaning gets a C grade.

In the old park, red lanterns blurred the predawn darkness. Black trees scratched the sky with spider-like branches. Piercing gusts of wind knocked out tears. Odintsov kicked the ice that had turned up, pulled up his jacket and moved towards the frozen bulk of the Mikhailovsky Castle. At the service entrance, I briefly shook the guard’s hand and said the usual: “How are you?” - and heard the same traditional: “No incidents.”

Odintsov worked as the deputy head of the security service of a museum located in the castle, and now he found himself in charge - the chief had the flu at home.

However, the temporary increase did not disrupt the usual routine. In his office, Odintsov swapped his cozy jumper and jeans for a shirt and tie and a dark gray suit, and his high lace-up boots for shiny shoes. Before eight he still had time to consult his work log in order to refresh his memory of the upcoming tasks...

...and the day began. Briefing and dismantling of security, night shift report, fussing with documents, phone calls, meetings... Everything is as always, the usual routine.

Odintsov allowed himself his first cigarette only after lunch. Of course, he could have been smoking in the office - who would have said a word? - but order is order. If you want to ask others, ask yourself first. That's how he was taught. Therefore, Odintsov smoked on a general basis, where he was supposed to.

The newspaper was lying in the smoking room on the sofa - apparently one of the guards had left it. Odintsov glanced through it while the cigarette was smoldering. A barrage of advertising, old jokes, illiterate crossword puzzles, distorted rumors, boring horoscopes - a disposable mess for softened brains...

...but one article still attracted Odintsov’s attention thanks to the illustration - Vitruvian man Leonardo da Vinci: in the middle of the text in a large drawing, a shaggy muscular man, inscribed in a circle and a square at the same time, stretched his arms to the sides. Odintsov skimmed the first paragraph.

March 14 is the most unusual holiday in the world: it is International Pi Day! In Western countries, the number of the month is written first, and then the day, so the date looks like 3.14 - that is, like the first digits of an amazing number.

Further, the author told Odintsov that the magic constant was known to the ancient wise men, who used it in calculations of the Tower of Babel. The Magi were not so mistaken, and yet the colossal structure collapsed. “For simplicity of calculations, the number pi-military is taken as exactly three!” - Odintsov recalled the words of a teacher from his long-standing cadet past. But the wise King Solomon, the newspaper continued, managed to calculate pi much more carefully - and built the Jerusalem Temple, which had no equal in centuries.

The article mentioned Einstein, who was lucky to be born on Number Day pi, and Archimedes, who was able to determine the millionths of a constant. The ending sounded pathetic.

Today, more than five hundred billion digits of pi have been verified. Their combinations are not repeated - therefore, the number is a non-periodic fraction. Thus, pi is not just a chaotic sequence of numbers, but Chaos itself, written in numbers! This Chaos can be depicted graphically, and in addition, there is an assumption that it is intelligent.

Odintsov carefully put out the cigarette butt, put it in the trash bin after the newspaper and returned to the office. Much more exciting reading awaited him: documentation for the new video surveillance system that was being installed in the castle.

A screensaver floated across the computer screen—a digital clock. The article said: number pi- this is 3.14159, so the holiday in his honor occurs on the third month of the fourteenth day without one minute at two o'clock in the afternoon. Intelligent Chaos, which is written in numbers...

Nonsense, one word.

The clock on the screensaver showed exactly one hour and fifty-nine minutes when there was a knock on the door. “No delay,” noted Odintsov with satisfaction, who valued punctuality, and got up from the table. The meeting was scheduled for two.

Two men entered the office - one younger and taller, athletic in appearance, the other older and stockier, with the eyes of a spaniel. They both had a small black kippah attached to their hair on the top of their heads.

– Shalom! Nice to meet you, gentleman. I am...- Odintsov began, demonstrating quite decent English, but the stocky man interrupted him with a polite smile:

– Hello, we speak Russian.

At the Mikhailovsky Castle they were preparing for a representative international conference. The level of participants required armed security. Israeli colleagues came to Odintsov to settle the formalities.

The eldest spoke and acted; his partner silently handed him papers. The usual procedure. Only when Odintsov was about to sign the documents did the young man ask to use their pen with special ink.

“You understand,” he said apologetically.

Odintsov understood.

“The enemies are not asleep, and we are trying to keep up,” added the senior Israeli. “They come up with something all the time, and so do we.” Safety is sacred.

The young man took a leather pencil case from his attaché case and handed it to the elder. He opened the lid and put the pencil case on the table. Odintsov took out a massive vintage pen with a gold nib and twirled it in his fingers with pleasure.

“It’s a solid thing,” he assessed, signed several times where they showed him, and returned the pen to his pencil case.

Having seen off the guests, Odintsov glanced at his watch again - the time had come! – and dialed the mobile number. “The subscriber is unavailable or is out of network coverage,” the indifferent mechanical young lady told him. Several more calls gave the same result.

“Varaksa,” Odintsov said reproachfully, looking at the receiver, “have you decided not to work at all now?”

Varaksa was an old friend of Odintsov, a keen fisherman and, in addition, a successful owner of a network of car service stations with a laconic name consisting of only two numbers - 47. A couple of days ago, Varaksa went to Ladoga for smelt. And in the head workshop of the “47” network they were repairing Odintsov’s car, which had caught an open hatch with its wheel on a snow-covered street.

Either the reproach had an effect, or the cunning Varaksa still received notifications about the calls, but soon Odintsov received a call from the station with the good news: the car was ready, he could pick it up.

I didn’t feel like crawling through traffic jams in the evening, and Odintsov decided to go to the workshop right away. Is he, after all, the boss, or not the boss?! The main things are done, the service is working... Odintsov gave some orders, returned the suit to the hanger, pulled on his jeans again, put his feet into high boots with thick ribbed soles - and hurried to leave.

The usual March cocktail for St. Petersburg rained down from the unkempt, whitish sky: either snow and rain, or rain and snow. Odintsov had to take a brush out of the trunk and clean the car: for the duration of the repair, he borrowed a Volvo SUV from the compassionate Varaksa. He was now ironing the icy shores of Ladoga on a mighty Land Rover, which had been thoroughly worked on in the “47” workshop.

Odintsov was finishing waving his brush when he saw Munin. An awkward, stooped guy slowly walked away from the castle in his direction. He pressed a cloth bag hanging over his shoulder on a long belt to his stomach, looked carefully at his feet - and still slipped.

- Hello, science! - shouted Odintsov.

Munin lifted the edge of his hood with chilled fingers. Wet snow immediately covered the lenses of the large glasses.

20
Jun
2017

The Mystery of the Three Sovereigns (Dmitry Miropolsky)

ISBN: 4620016291948
Format: FB2, eBook (originally computer)
Miropolsky Dmitry
Year of release: 2017
Genre: Historical detective
Publisher: Komsomolskaya Pravda
Russian language
Number of pages: 576

Description: The greatest secret of all times and peoples goes back centuries.

It was touched by biblical prophets and apostles led by Andrew the First-Called, Russian sovereigns Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Paul, great writers and scientists, famous warriors and politicians.

While people struggled to solve it, the millstones of history ground more than one people and more than one empire.

Now the time has come for the chosen ones who will reveal the secret to all of humanity and radically change the course of world history.

This will happen in our Russia, in St. Petersburg.

Here and now.

Add. information: Age restrictions: 12+

09
May
2017

The Mystery of the Three Sovereigns (Dmitry Miropolsky)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128-167kbps
Author: Miropolsky Dmitry
Year of release: 2017
Genre: Levashev Vladimir
Publisher: Komsomolskaya Pravda
Artist: Historical detective
Duration: 16:22:01
Description: As is obvious from the title of the book, the main intrigue plays out around
Russian rulers: Ivan the Fourth (the Terrible), Peter the Great and Paul, his great-grandson. The young historian examines the activities of these kings and discovers a lot that unites these seemingly completely different people who lived in different eras. I must say that the book contains so many different facts from the history...

13
May
2017

The Secret of the Three Sovereigns (70 chapters out of 100) (Dmitry Miropolsky)

Author: Miropolsky Dmitry
Year of release: 2017
Genre: Historical detective
Publisher: Radio “Komsomolskaya Pravda”
Musical accompaniment: constant musical accompaniment with sound effects
Performer: Vladimir Levashev
Duration: 15:14:50
Description: The greatest secret of all times and peoples goes back centuries. It was touched by biblical prophets and apostles led by Andrew the First-Called, Russian sovereigns Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Paul, great writers and scientists, famous warriors and politicians. While people were struggling to solve it,...

18
Jan
2015

The Power of Three (Diana Jones)

Author: Jones Diana
Year of manufacture: 2014
Genre: Fantasy, adventure for middle and older children
Publisher: Can't buy it anywhere
Performer: Nadezhda Vinokurova
Duration: 09:16:09
Description: Fans of the talent of the famous Diana Wynne Jones will not be disappointed this time. This book has it all: secrets, adventure, love and an ending that no one can predict. You can't expect anything else from the best-selling master! Imagine what it’s like to live in this world if your father is a great leader and a real hero, your mother is the wisest of women, your eldest...

02
Feb
2012

The Case of Three Emperors (Fred Vargas)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 96kbps
Author: Fred Vargas
Year of manufacture: 2011
Genre: Detective
Publisher: No need to buy
Performer: Kirsanov Sergey
Duration: 05:30:20
Description: A mysterious murder occurs in Rome, the victim of which is an influential Parisian publisher. One possible explanation is a long-simmering conflict in the family of the murdered man. Another alleged trail leads to the vast, unexplored archival holdings of the Vatican Library. French lawyer Valence, a detective virtuoso, believes that he has solved the mystery of the crime. However, a second murder forces him to look at...

16
Jan
2013

The Case of Three Emperors (Fred Vargas)

ISBN: 978–5–389–00132–9
Format: FB2, OCR without errors
Author: Fred Vargas
Year of manufacture: 2008
Publisher: Inostranka
Genre: Detective
Russian language
Number of pages: 272
Description: A mysterious murder occurs in Rome, the victim of which is an influential Parisian publisher. One possible explanation is a long-simmering conflict in the family of the murdered man. Another alleged trail leads to the vast, unexplored archival holdings of the Vatican Library. French lawyer Valence, a detective virtuoso, believes that he has solved the mystery of the crime. However, the second murder forces him to look at his de...

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Aug
2011

Between Three Times (Jack Finney)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 192kbps
Author: Jack Finney
Year of manufacture: 2011
Genre fiction
Publisher: The Black Box Publishing
Performer: Igor Knyazev
Duration: 12:27:31
Description: Almost 30 years after the release of the cult novel “Between Two Times,” obeying the persistent requests of hundreds of thousands of fans of the book, J. Finney writes a sequel, which he barely manages to complete shortly before his death. Time traveler Cy Morley this time needs to go back to the beginning of the twentieth century to do the incredible...

10
Oct
2013

Between three times (Bushkov Alexander)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128kbps
Author: Bushkov Alexander
Year of manufacture: 2013
Genre fiction
Publisher: Can't buy it anywhere
Performer: Zaborovsky Yuri
Duration: 02:03:03
Description: Arkady Sergeevich Kuzminkin, a researcher working in the Shantar museum and receiving a meager salary there, unexpectedly becomes a consultant to the first Shantar businessman Boris Mokin and makes an excursion in his company to Russia at the end of the 19th century. That's when his fundamental knowledge of the history of this period came in very handy...
Contents: Chapter 1. Time of the new Russian Chapter 2. Time of the year...

14
Apr
2013

Cycle “Milady of the Three Worlds” (Anna Veter)

Author: Anna Veter
Year of manufacture: 2005-2006
Genre: Fantasy, Humorous Fiction
Publisher:
ARMADA: "Publishing house Alfa-book"; Moscow
Russian language
Number of pages: 270+
Description: How unexpected it is sometimes to see your own dreams come true! Have you dreamed of a great and extraordinary destiny? Please - become the Milady of the Three Worlds! True, in my dreams I never had to defend my possessions from Black sorcerers. I thought about HIM - handsome, strong, to carry in my arms, and my friends burst with envy... Get it! True, in my visions I never...

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but I
2012

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Format: audiobook, MP3, 96kbps
Author: Borisov Sergey
Year of manufacture: 2012
Genre: Detective
Publisher: Can't buy it anywhere
Performer: Zaborovsky Yuri
Duration: 03:28:23
Description: The story is included in the inter-author collection about Sherlock Holmes. This story is about romantics. There is no other way to describe people who have made it their life’s work to praise the genius of the Great Detective. An immortal genius, because, in their deepest conviction: 1. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are real personalities; 2. they are still alive and well; 3. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is just a literary agent through whom the notes were made public before...

21
Jul
2008

Jack London - Hearts of Three

Format: audiobook, MP3, 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz
Year of manufacture: 2005
Author: Jack London
Performer: Kirill Grebenshchikov
Genre: novel
Publisher: Studio ARDIS
Number of pages:
Playing time: 14 hours 14 minutes
Description: The main character - Francis Morgan - is the son of a deceased millionaire, born an aristocrat. It all starts with a search for the treasure of the founder of the family - the formidable pirate Henry Morgan, then an unexpected meeting, unexpected capture, liberation, pursuit, treasure, the village of Lost Souls with a beautiful queen... The action takes place almost continuously, the heroes not having time to get out of one unpleasant situation. ..

08
May
2011

Between Three Times 2 (Jack Finney)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 64 kbps
Author: Jack Finney
Year of manufacture: 2011
Genre fiction
Publisher: DIY AudioBook
Performer: Igor Knyazev
Duration: 12:27:31
Description: Almost 30 years after the release of the cult novel “Between Two Times,” obeying the persistent requests of hundreds of thousands of fans of the book, J. Finney writes a sequel, which he barely manages to complete shortly before his death. Time traveler Cy Morley this time needs to get to the beginning of the twentieth century to do the incredible... Beginning -

07
Apr
2011

Biology. In three volumes (edited by R. Soper) (D. Taylor, N. Green, W. Stout)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 96kbps
Author: Sariola Mauri
Year of manufacture: 2009
Genre: Detective
Publisher: Can't buy it anywhere
Performer: Koziy Nikolay
Duration: 07:19:13
Description: A murder occurs, and detective Ilola is completely at a loss, although he, among other things, has personal motives to catch the killer. But nothing works: the investigation is marking time, the threads are being cut off, and all the suspects that have emerged by this time have an alibi that is irresistible at first glance. A second murder is committed. And only here the famous Susikoski, a cross-cutting character in many stories, joins the investigation...

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Jun
2018

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ISBN: 978-5-44-445212-7, Victories and heroes of the Russian fleet
Format: FB2, eBook (originally computer)
Author: Vladimir Shigin
Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Veche
Russian language
Number of pages: 352
Description: A new book by the famous Russian writer-marinist Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Shigin is dedicated to the campaign of the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean Sea in 1827-1830 and their victory at Navarino, as well as the military operations of the Russian army and the Black Sea Fleet in 1828-1829 on Balkans and Caucasus. Among the heroes of the book are Emperor Nicholas I, Rear Admiral Heyden and L...

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Adolf Gitler. In three volumes. (Joachim K. Fest)

ISBN: 5-87964-006-X, 5-87964-005-1, XX century. Fascism
Format: FB2, eBook (originally computer)
Author: Joachim K. Fest
Year of manufacture: 1993
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Aletheia
Russian language
Number of pages: 314+419+445
Description: “Now Hitler’s life has really been solved,” stated one of the popular West German newspapers in connection with the publication of I. Fest’s book. The leaders must correspond to the messianic expectations of the masses; a certain sacrament of appearance is necessary. Therefore, it is best for the newly-minted messiah to emerge from the nebula, sparkling like a comet. It's no coincidence that they guarded it so carefully...

Dmitry Miropolsky

The Secret of the Three Sovereigns

He had no desire to rummage

In chronological dust

History of the earth:

But jokes of days gone by

From Romulus to the present day

He kept it in his memory.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

I myself was a speck of dust in the composition of the huge instruments with which Providence acted.

Prince Nikolai Borisovich Golitsyn

The less true a story is, the more enjoyable it is.

Sir Francis Bacon

I have no interest in anything unless it has two murders per page.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

1. Dirty detective

On the day of the number pi Major Odintsov did not intend to kill anyone.

“Cleaning is a C grade,” Odintsov said out loud; out of an old bachelor habit, he sometimes talked to himself. - Cleaning gets a C grade.

Odintsov worked as the deputy head of the security service of a museum located in the castle, and now he found himself in charge - the chief had the flu at home.

...and the day began. Briefing and dismantling of security, night shift report, fussing with documents, phone calls, meetings... Everything is as always, the usual routine.

The article mentioned Einstein, who was lucky to be born on Number Day pi, and Archimedes, who was able to determine the millionths of a constant. The ending sounded pathetic.

Nonsense, one word.

– Shalom! Nice to meet you, gentleman. I am...- Odintsov began, demonstrating quite decent English, but the stocky man interrupted him with a polite smile:

– Hello, we speak Russian.

The eldest spoke and acted; his partner silently handed him papers. The usual procedure. Only when Odintsov was about to sign the documents did the young man ask to use their pen with special ink.

“You understand,” he said apologetically.

Odintsov understood.

“The enemies are not asleep, and we are trying to keep up,” added the senior Israeli. “They come up with something all the time, and so do we.” Safety is sacred.

“It’s a solid thing,” he assessed, signed several times where they showed him, and returned the pen to his pencil case.

“Varaksa,” Odintsov said reproachfully, looking at the receiver, “have you decided not to work at all now?”

- Hello, science! - shouted Odintsov.

Munin lifted the edge of his hood with chilled fingers. Wet snow immediately covered the lenses of the large glasses.

Dmitry Miropolsky’s book “The Secret of the Three Sovereigns” became a bestseller even before it was published in print. Chapters from the work were published on the Komsomolskaya Pravda website, thanks to which it quickly became famous. The author of the novel successfully combined several literary genres. There are real historical facts here: those that are known to many, and those that only a few know about. Here you can also see a detective line, even a thriller and a little science fiction.

The writer has long been studying history in general and the history of the city of St. Petersburg, which is reflected in his book. Dmitry Miropolsky introduces to the attention of readers three important representatives of the power of the Russian state - Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, Emperors Peter I and his great-grandson Pavel. The events of the book take place in the 16th-18th centuries, respectively, with the time of their reign.

It all begins with a chance meeting between a historian and a former secret service officer, but it was this meeting that led to many of the events described in the book. The lives of the three rulers of Russia turned out to be interconnected. If you analyze many facts, you can see something in common, a secret that many tried to find out, getting very close, but were never able to solve it.

In the novel, the tsar and emperors appear in a slightly different light than we are accustomed to thinking about them, based on data from history textbooks. Ivan the Terrible is not a tyrant who senselessly kills people, but a very educated man who was able to unite the Russian lands. After reading new facts about the rulers of Russia, you can get answers to your questions, change your opinion, understand the actions of the rulers, and not condemn them.

The plot takes unimaginable turns, grabs you and doesn’t let go until the very end. However, it is recommended to read the book in doses in order to have time to comprehend everything stated. The novel also highlights modern problems; the ending will provide the desired solution and will be very unexpected.

The work was published in 2017 by the publishing house Komsomolskaya Pravda. On our website you can download the book “The Secret of the Three Sovereigns” in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format or read online. The book's rating is 3.2 out of 5. Here, before reading, you can also turn to reviews from readers who are already familiar with the book and find out their opinion. In our partner's online store you can buy and read the book in paper form.

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Dmitry Miropolsky
The Secret of the Three Sovereigns

He had no desire to rummage

In chronological dust

History of the earth:

But jokes of days gone by

From Romulus to the present day

He kept it in his memory.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

I myself was a speck of dust in the composition of the huge instruments with which Providence acted.

Prince Nikolai Borisovich Golitsyn

The less true a story is, the more enjoyable it is.

Sir Francis Bacon

I have no interest in anything unless it has two murders per page.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

1. Dirty detective

On the day of the number pi Major Odintsov did not intend to kill anyone.

“Cleaning is a C grade,” Odintsov said out loud; out of an old bachelor habit, he sometimes talked to himself. - Cleaning gets a C grade.

Odintsov worked as the deputy head of the security service of a museum located in the castle, and now he found himself in charge - the chief had the flu at home.

...and the day began. Briefing and dismantling of security, night shift report, fussing with documents, phone calls, meetings... Everything is as always, the usual routine.

The article mentioned Einstein, who was lucky to be born on Number Day pi, and Archimedes, who was able to determine the millionths of a constant. The ending sounded pathetic.

Nonsense, one word.

– Shalom! Nice to meet you, gentleman. I am...- Odintsov began, demonstrating quite decent English, but the stocky man interrupted him with a polite smile:

– Hello, we speak Russian.

The eldest spoke and acted; his partner silently handed him papers. The usual procedure. Only when Odintsov was about to sign the documents did the young man ask to use their pen with special ink.

“You understand,” he said apologetically.

Odintsov understood.

“The enemies are not asleep, and we are trying to keep up,” added the senior Israeli. “They come up with something all the time, and so do we.” Safety is sacred.

“It’s a solid thing,” he assessed, signed several times where they showed him, and returned the pen to his pencil case.

“Varaksa,” Odintsov said reproachfully, looking at the receiver, “have you decided not to work at all now?”

- Hello, science! - shouted Odintsov.

Munin lifted the edge of his hood with chilled fingers. Wet snow immediately covered the lenses of the large glasses.

- I'm here! - Odintsov waved his hand, and Munin saw him. - I can give you a lift.

“Hello,” Munin said, approaching the car. – I’d like to get to the metro, if it doesn’t bother you.

- To the metro of course. In general, where should we go?

They were on their way.

The young historian worked in the scientific part of the museum. Munin’s acquaintance with Odintsov was recent and casual: they had lunch once or twice at the same table in the staff canteen, exchanged a few phrases and now greeted each other when they met. But for the reserved Munin, even this looked like an achievement.

He liked Odintsov. Firstly, because he not only asked relevant questions, but also knew how to listen. Secondly, because the watchman’s condescension, usual for security guards, was not felt in his behavior. Thirdly – what a sin to hide? - the frail, bespectacled Munin hopelessly dreamed of being as confident, stately and broad-shouldered; learn to wear a suit and not look away in conversation... Odintsov’s colorful image was completed by a gray lock in his neat hairstyle and a half-gray left eyebrow.

In the car, Munin happily settled down on the heated leather of the front seat. Odintsov taxied onto the Fontanka, and they drove along the castle along the embankment.

– How are things on the intellectual front? – Odintsov asked. – Prolonged battles with opponents? Trench warfare?

“That’s enough, we’ve had enough of it in the trenches,” Munin responded in tone and patted the bag lying on his lap with his palm. - There has been a breakthrough.

A scientist, wow... Odintsov figured it out: the boy had recently graduated from university, and most likely had not served in the army - that is, he was at most twenty-five years old. At fifty and a penny, Odintsov could well have had a son of that age. But he’s hardly short-sighted – and certainly an athlete, not a weakling.

- Prory-y-yv? – Odintsov raised his half-gray eyebrow and nodded at the bag. – Violation of the protected perimeter? Did you steal some rarity?

“What are you saying,” Munin played along again, “it’s a sin to steal!” Everything here is yours, dear.

Tsar Ivan the Fourth the Terrible.

Emperor Peter the Great.

Emperor Pavel.

He opened the flap of the bag and took out a thick, heavy folder with a red cover. It was clear that he was impatient to show off.

“It’s like Pushkin’s: “The longed-for moment has come: my long-term work is finished,” the historian recited and, looking at the folder with love, weighed it in his hands. “I can’t tell you yet, I don’t have the right.” Although you are far from science, you can. You're no one, are you?.. In general, it turns out that at least three Russian tsars were doing the same thing.

“In my opinion, all the tsars were doing approximately the same thing,” said Odintsov, “isn’t it?”

Munin winced in annoyance.

– That’s not what I wanted to say. I was able to discover and document that Ivan the Fourth, Peter the Great and Pavel acted according to the same scheme. It was as if they were solving the same problem. Each in his own time and each in his own circumstances, but still... Moreover, not only the task was common, but also the methods of solution. The feeling is that they acted according to instructions that said: do this, this and that. Do you understand?

“No,” Odintsov admitted easily.

- No wonder. Even I didn’t understand at first,” Munin said.

Odintsov looked at him with irony because of this even, but the historian did not notice the look and continued:

– In general, no one understood anything and did not pay attention! You are correct in saying that all the kings did approximately the same thing. And these three too, but only up to a certain point. And then suddenly they began to do similar things. Paradoxical and inexplicable.

“Maybe they are paradoxical for you,” Odintsov suggested, “but for contemporaries they are nothing special.”

- That’s just it, that contemporaries doubted whether the sovereign was in his right mind! “Munin got excited and sat down sideways, turning to Odintsov. – Ivan, and Peter, and Pavel frightened even those closest to them. At first they seemed to behave normally, and then - click! - and it was as if some other program was turned on, incomprehensible and therefore especially scary. That's why these three were feared and hated like no other.

- Wait. Ivan the Fourth is Ivan the Terrible, right?

Munin nodded.

- Well, then there is no question why they were afraid and hated. He's a rare bloodsucker. Did you kill your own son? Killed. And he executed people indiscriminately right and left...

– Ivan was not a bloodsucker! – Munin was indignant. “And he didn’t kill his son, and he executed only those with whom it was impossible otherwise. You are repeating gossip that is over four hundred years old! They began to be composed during Ivan Vasilyevich’s lifetime. And the textbooks still lie, and no one knows the truth!

- And you, it turns out, know? – Odintsov again looked slyly at Munin.

Turning to talk near the snow-covered Summer Garden, they crossed the bridge over the Fontanka, glittering with gold railings; we passed the terracotta block with white veins of the Panteleimon Church - a monument to the first naval victory of Peter the Great - and drove towards Liteiny Prospekt.

Munin had already calmed down.

“You see,” he said, “there are, as it were, two truths.” This is normal in any science, and especially in history. There is truth for ordinary people. For you, sorry, and for them.

The historian waved his hand towards passers-by outside the car window, and Odintsov clarified:

- For the masses? For the people?

- For the people. And I mean the truth for specialists who know the subject more deeply and comprehensively. What you know about Ivan the Terrible is a primitive diagram that is crudely put together, easy to remember and easy to use. But we, historians...

– You just said that no one knows the truth except you. Now it turns out that all historians know it. A contradiction, however!

- There is no contradiction. Any colleague of mine, if he is truly a professional and, moreover, unbiased, with documents in hand, will explain to you in five minutes why Ivan the Terrible is not a bloodsucker. Unlike ordinary people, who immediately receive a ready-made scheme, we are supposed to collect facts, then check them for accuracy, and only then add them together. The problem is that a scientist usually seeks to confirm or refute some hypothesis - his own or his predecessors. Therefore, it interprets events with a given result, and the picture turns out to be biased.

Odintsov looked at Munin with interest:

– How, then, are you different from the rest?

“Because I set a fundamentally different task,” the historian said proudly and adjusted his glasses that had slipped down on his nose. – I didn’t try to prove or disprove anything. It didn’t matter to me whether Ivan the Terrible was a fiend or a saint. In the same way, Peter the Great could have been an agent of Europe or a patriot of Russia, and Pavel could have been an insane martinet or a titan of spirit who was ahead of his time. I knew the same things about them as others. I just noticed that the actions of Ivan Vasilyevich, Pyotr Alekseevich and Pavel Petrovich are very different from the actions of the other sovereigns, but very similar to each other.

Munin stroked the folder.

“The actions of each person,” he said, “are his own business.” You never know what comes into someone's head? But when strange and, moreover, identical actions are committed by the leaders of a country living in different times, and even done not forcedly, but deliberately - then excuse me. This can't be an accident. Obviously, there is some kind of pattern, there is a system!

“And this system you...” Odintsov began, and Munin picked up:

– ...and I tried to describe this system. Just add up and compare historical facts, without proving or disproving anything.

The car crossed Liteiny Prospekt, circled around the watercolor Easter cake of the Transfiguration Cathedral along a fence made from captured cannon barrels, and soon turned onto Kirochnaya Street.

- Thank you. Stop somewhere here, please,” Munin asked.

Transfiguration Cathedral.

Everything along the curb was busy, but a little ahead a parked car was flashing its left turn signal. Odintsov slowed down behind her; turned on the emergency lights, blocking the lane and allowing the driver to leave, and then deftly dived into the vacant space.

- What does it mean? – he asked, looking at the cover of the folder, on top of which there was a large yellow label with the inscription: Urbi et Orbi.

Munin became embarrassed and began to stuff the folder into his bag.

- Urbi et orbi? Yes so...

- Well, but still? - Odintsov did not lag behind.

“It means “To the City and the World” in Latin. Ovid... the poet was such an ancient Roman... Ovid wrote that other peoples on earth were given boundaries, but for the Romans the extent of the city and the world coincided. In general, the appeal is ancient Roman - to everyone and everyone. Urbi et orbi.

Munin coped with the folder; said goodbye, got out of the car, put on his hood and wandered towards the pedestrian crossing.

Odintsov looked after the historian. From Munin’s story, he didn’t really understand what kind of discovery he had made and what the breakthrough was. Long-dead kings repeating each other’s illogical actions... Who cares about them now?

On the other hand, it’s good that the boy is interested in this. Those eyes are burning! It’s not easy to stuff such a thick folder - apparently it’s really serious work. But now he addresses all progressive humanity, the entire Universe. Urbi et Orbi, is not exchanged for small things. And rightly so - at his age... Oh, youth!

Odintsov dialed Varaksa’s number on his mobile phone and put his hand in his pocket for cigarettes. I couldn’t get through again, and I didn’t have a cigarette with me: I probably left the pack in my jacket when I quickly changed my clothes before leaving work.

“It’s a mess,” Odintsov chided himself, turned off the engine and got out of the car. Familiar places, the center of St. Petersburg; and just nearby, I remember, there was a good tobacco store.

Odintsov crossed the street. Ahead, near the arch, he saw Munin, who was talking on his mobile phone, and was already preparing to joke - they say, we began to meet more often, and this makes us happy. But then two strong young men in gray jackets appeared next to the historian, took him by the elbows and literally carried him into the gateway.

“It’s interesting how the girls dance,” Odintsov frowned, “four of them in a row...”

He turned next. In the cramped courtyard-well, one of the men was pulling a bag from Munin’s shoulder. The historian clung to his belt and shouted in a broken voice:

- What do you need? What do you need?

Odintsov walked leisurely towards them.

- Guys, are there any problems? - he asked.

“No problem,” answered the second strong man. - Come on in, come on in, everything’s okay.

“In my opinion, everything is not all right,” Odintsov objected. – The purse, I see, is someone else’s. But it’s not good to take someone else’s property. You shouldn't have started this. By God, in vain. Let's maybe do something amicable...

“You should go, man,” the second one said again, let go of Munin and stepped towards him.

These two were not street punks. “But they’re not the police either,” Odintsov thought: they didn’t show any identification, although they acted very harmoniously. The way the talkative, strong man moved also showed that he was a professional. And yet Odintsov managed to lull his vigilance - with simple chatter, a relaxed gait and, of course, his hands in his pockets. Hands in your pockets are usually the most soothing. You just need to be able to take them out instantly.

Odintsov knew how.

A strike with an open palm in a street fight is more effective than with a fist: the affected area is larger, you won’t miss. The lightning-fast slap in the face, especially severe in the opposite direction, came as a complete surprise to the strong man. Dealing with ordinary hooligans, Odintsov would have been satisfied with the shock of a slap in the face. But here he did not take risks and knocked out the attacker with several powerful blows.

The knockout was so quick and devastating that the man who took the bag also made a mistake. The dumbfounded Munin could have served as a cover, but the strong man pushed him away, seemed to be preparing for battle - and suddenly put his hand into the bosom of his gray jacket.

Odintsov did not stop and found himself right in front of the man when he pulled out a pistol: neither time nor distance was enough to point the weapon at Odintsov and pull the trigger...

….and the next moment the strong man screamed, muffling the crunch of his wrist. Having unscrewed the pistol in the enemy’s hand, Odintsov turned the short barrel under his ribs and clenched his fist, using someone else’s fingers to press the trigger - once, twice, three times...

No shots were heard. The pistol only clanged dully, throwing out cartridges. The big guy bulged his eyes, let out a long hiss and began to sink into the snow.

Odintsov untangled the weapon from the dying man’s twisted fingers and turned around. The first fighter with a curled jaw, lying on his back, moved his hand and tried to reach the belt holster, which peeked out from under his lifted jacket.

“Oh, you came to your senses quickly,” Odintsov said with surprise and some annoyance.

There was no choice. He approached the man lying down and shot him in the forehead. The pistol clanged again.

The historian stood in the same place, plugging his fingers into his ears and shaking his head from side to side. The ill-fated bag lay at his feet.

“Nothing, nothing,” Odintsov muttered under his breath. - I didn’t go deaf and didn’t go down. Wait a moment, I’ll quickly...

Under Munin’s wandering gaze, he pulled on his gloves and cleaned out everything from the pockets of the dead: wallets, spare clips for pistols, cigarettes, chewing gum... He threw mobile phones into a snowdrift, stuffed spent cartridges and weapons into the pockets of his jacket; The rest, without looking at it, he put into Munin’s bag. The dexterity with which Odintsov acted showed considerable experience.

Having quickly finished the job, he threw the bag over his shoulder and slapped Munin on the back, bringing him to his senses; He caught the slipping glasses under the historian’s long nose, put them back on, firmly grabbed the guy by the sleeve above the elbow and commanded:

- Now - run!